Tag: lu

Gold edged higher on Thursday as growing risk aversion weighed on the dollar, while palladium held ground at a premium to the bullion. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,239.86 per ounce, as of 0429 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.2 percent higher at $1,244.9 per ounce. “Markets are trying to consolidate, trying to push up higher for now,” said Benjamin Lu, a commodities analyst with Phillip Futures. The dollar declined against the safe-haven yen as a spike in risk aversion pressured equitie

Gold edged higher on Thursday as growing risk aversion weighed on the dollar, while palladium held ground at a premium to the bullion.

Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,239.86 per ounce, as of 0429 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were 0.2 percent higher at $1,244.9 per ounce.

“Markets are trying to consolidate, trying to push up higher for now,” said Benjamin Lu, a commodities analyst with Phillip Futures.

A balance between a host of factors such as a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December, uncertainty about trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and a flattening yield curve has helped create a premium for the bullion, Lu added.

Fed policymakers will gather at a Dec. 18-19 meeting, at which the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates.

“Although a rate hike is already priced in, markets will be closely watching the meeting for clues on rate hike timings in 2019,” said Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at FXTM, adding that: “if the meeting echoes a similar message to (Chairman Jerome) Powell’s dovish shift, gold has the potential to shine into 2019.”

The dollar declined against the safe-haven yen as a spike in risk aversion pressured equities and U.S. Treasury yields. The spread between the two-year and five-year Treasury yields inverted this week and the two-year/10-year spread was at its flattest in more than a decade amid a sharp fall in long-term rates.

“An yield curve inversion indicates higher borrowing cost in short term, so for safe-haven assets in the longer run it’s going to be very positive,” Phillip Futures’ Lu said.

Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,245 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain into a range of $1,253-$1,258, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Meanwhile, palladium continued to be more valuable than gold after outshining the yellow metal for the first time since 2002 on Wednesday, with prices soaring by around 50 percent in less than four months to record levels.

Spot palladium rose 0.1 percent to $1,245.00 per ounce, hovering near its record high hit in the previous session.

The market now awaits Friday’s U.S. non-farm payrolls data for November, which is expected to show unemployment remains at 3.7 percent.

“Investors are seen adopting a cautious stance ahead of the U.S. jobs report which could offer insight over the health of the U.S. labour force,” said FXTM’s Otunuga.

Amongst other metals, silver fell 0.7 percent to $14.41 per ounce, while platinum extended losses into a third session, declining 0.7 percent to $795.00 per ounce.

“Nobody knows how the trade war will end. “The growth in interest in the currency futures is a gradual one, but there is increasing awareness about such risks,” Lu told CNBC. He cited commodity traders as some of those who are concerned about exposure to the U.S-China tariff battle and are consequently looking for various ways to hedge the risk. Proprietary traders also see opportunities for arbitrage between different products as the yuan faces volatility against the dollar, he added. Both meas

“Nobody knows how the trade war will end. There’s a lot of fear and panic in the financial market and worries about trade”

Most trading between the two currencies takes place on the spot market, where dollars and yuan change hands as soon as a deal is done. That sort of market has seen volumes surge this year for the currency pair. But futures trading — where the transaction is agreed to take place at a later date at a certain price — is also increasingly catching dollar-yuan traders’ interests, according to Benjamin Lu, an investment analyst with Singapore brokerage Phillip Futures.

“The growth in interest in the currency futures is a gradual one, but there is increasing awareness about such risks,” Lu told CNBC.

He cited commodity traders as some of those who are concerned about exposure to the U.S-China tariff battle and are consequently looking for various ways to hedge the risk. Proprietary traders also see opportunities for arbitrage between different products as the yuan faces volatility against the dollar, he added.

Within China’s mainland borders, the yuan’s price against other currencies is tightly controlled by the People’s Bank of China, while the so-called offshore yuan represents the currency’s value in markets beyond Beijing’s control. Both measures of the yuan have declined against the dollar recently as China’s economy faces headwinds from Beijing’s trade war with Washington, and as the greenback strengthens on the back of robust U.S. growth.

Goat CEO: Why sneakers are for more than just sports 8 Hours Ago | 04:18On the sneaker reselling website Goat, one pair of shoes can go for as much as $60,000, according to CEO Eddie Lu. “It’s not just a sports thing, it’s a lifestyle thing,” Lu said in an interview with CNBC’s Wilfred Frost. Goat is the largest resale marketplace for sneakers, with over 35,000 unique styles available on its website and app. Customers “want to touch the shoes, try them on, see what they feel like and even smell”

Goat CEO: Why sneakers are for more than just sports 8 Hours Ago | 04:18

On the sneaker reselling website Goat, one pair of shoes can go for as much as $60,000, according to CEO Eddie Lu.

“It’s not just a sports thing, it’s a lifestyle thing,” Lu said in an interview with CNBC’s Wilfred Frost.

Goat is the largest resale marketplace for sneakers, with over 35,000 unique styles available on its website and app. The company authenticates every pair of shoes it receives from sellers in order to prevent counterfeits.

The company recently announced a sponsorship deal with Los Angeles Lakers player Kyle Kuzma, who has previously been sponsored by Nike. The NBA loosened its dress code for the 2018-2019 season, allowing players to wear any color of sneakers for the first time in the league’s history.

Lu acknowledged Kanye West as an “important figure” in elevating sneakers to the level of high fashion with his luxury Yeezy brand, developed in partnership with Adidas. But he reached even further back, pointing to Run-D.M.C.’s 1986 hit “My Adidas” as the birth of sneaker culture.

These days, even the most unlikely brands are entering the sneaker market. “We’ve even seen the luxury companies coming in, with Gucci and Balenciaga creating sneakers of their own,” Lu said.

In February, Goat merged with Fight Club, a brick-and-mortar consignment shop with stores in Los Angeles and New York City. The merger allowed Goat to have a physical retail presence, which Lu said is valuable in the industry.

Customers “want to touch the shoes, try them on, see what they feel like and even smell” the sneakers, he said.

As part of the merger, Goat received a $60 million investment from Index Ventures that values the California-based company at $250 million.

American start-up incubator Y Combinator is setting up shop in China, with a new unit to be led by former Baidu chief operating officer Qi Lu. Sam Altman, Y Combinator’s president, said in a company announcement Wednesday that China had been “an important missing piece of our puzzle” when it came to sourcing new start-ups to take under its wing. China’s major tech giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are themselves major investors in various global start-ups. As part of the move to China, Lu will a

American start-up incubator Y Combinator is setting up shop in China, with a new unit to be led by former Baidu chief operating officer Qi Lu.

Sam Altman, Y Combinator’s president, said in a company announcement Wednesday that China had been “an important missing piece of our puzzle” when it came to sourcing new start-ups to take under its wing.

“We think that a significant percentage of the largest technology companies that are founded in the next decade — companies at the scale of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook — will be based in the U.S. and China,” Altman said.

“YC’s greatest strength is our founder community and with the launch of YC China we believe we have a special opportunity to include many more Chinese founders in our global community.”

The accelerator, set up in 2005, has invested in more than 1,900 start-ups, including notable firms like Dropbox, Airbnb, Reddit, Stripe and Coinbase.

Y Combinator’s entry into China will mark the latest push by U.S. companies and investors to invest in the country’s fledgling tech scene, which has given rise to multi-billion dollar start-ups like ride-sharing firm Didi Chuxing, drone maker DJI, Meituan-Dianping-owned bike sharing company Mobike and AI and face recognition firm SenseTime.

China’s major tech giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are themselves major investors in various global start-ups.

As part of the move to China, Lu will also head up Y Combinator’s research team, Altman said. The accelerator also plans to launch a new research center in Seattle.

Before his time working with Baidu, known for its popular Chinese search engine, Lu served as an executive vice president at Microsoft, leading the division in charge of Office, Bing and Skype. Lu quit Baidu in May for “personal and family reasons,” and said he wished to spend more time in the U.S.

U.S. oil prices slumped on Monday after China threatened duties on American crude imports in an escalating trade dispute with Washington. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures touched their lowest level since April, falling to $63.59 per barrel before edging back to $63.83 a barrel by 0426 GMT. “Crude oil prices crashed as U.S.-China trade tensions escalated last Friday,” wrote Benjamin Lu of Singapore-based futures brokerage Phillip Futures. China on Friday said it would retaliate by

In an escalating spat over the American trade deficit with most of its major trading partners, including China, U.S. President Donald Trump last week pushed ahead with hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, starting on July 6.

China on Friday said it would retaliate by slapping duties on American export products, including crude oil.

“Beijing has retaliated … with its position as a top importer from the U.S.,” Lu said.

Baidu on Friday said its operating chief, former Microsoft executive Qi Lu, will be stepping down in July, less than two years into his tenure there. Baidu hired Lu to take on day-to-day operations on behalf of CEO Robin Li in January 2017. Immediately prior to that, he was an executive vice president at Microsoft, where he was in charge of Office applications. He will retain his role as vice president of Baidu’s board and will focus on research and development, although he won’t be working full

Baidu on Friday said its operating chief, former Microsoft executive Qi Lu, will be stepping down in July, less than two years into his tenure there. Baidu stock was down more than 9 percent after the announcement.

The move is a loss for one of China’s leading tech companies, which are racing like American technology companies to enhance services with artificial intelligence.

Baidu hired Lu to take on day-to-day operations on behalf of CEO Robin Li in January 2017. Immediately prior to that, he was an executive vice president at Microsoft, where he was in charge of Office applications. Earlier in his career he worked at IBM and Yahoo. Office is now a key part of Microsoft’s growing Commercial Cloud.

“We have seen many positive changes at Baidu since Qi joined last year. I’m especially impressed by Qi’s integrity, dedication to work and sharp insights into technologies and businesses,” Li said in a statement on the news.

Lu said in the statement that he can no longer work full-time in China for “personal and family reasons” and will spend more time in the U.S. He will retain his role as vice president of Baidu’s board and will focus on research and development, although he won’t be working full-time for Baidu.

“I’m honored to have participated in Baidu’s transition into an AI-first company,” Lu said. Microsoft and Google, among others, have also sought to reshape themselves around AI.

Lu, who has more than 40 U.S. patents, left Microsoft in 2016 for health reasons following a bicycle accident.

Warren Buffett’s partner Charlie Munger shares his advice for living a rich and successful life 8:27 AM ET Wed, 16 Aug 2017 | 01:07Charlie Munger has been working alongside Warren Buffett for almost 60 years. To be as efficient as possible, Munger developed a simple productivity hack: using any available downtime to read. When Lu first met Munger, Munger had already finished reading several newspapers. “I arrived on time and found Charlie sitting there, finished with the day’s newspapers. “In my

Charlie Munger has been working alongside Warren Buffett for almost 60 years. Together, the business partners, billionaires and friends transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a once failing textile manufacturer into a $490 billion conglomerate.

Buffett, the 87-year-old CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Munger, the 94-year-old vice chairman, have dealt with more responsibility than most over their decades long careers.

To be as efficient as possible, Munger developed a simple productivity hack: using any available downtime to read.

“As long as I have a book in my hand, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time,” Munger said, according to his close friend and the founder of Himalaya Capital, Li Lu.

Lu, who has known Munger for over a decade and wrote an introduction to Munger’s book, “Poor Charlie’s Almanack,” said the billionaire would carry around a book or a newspaper just in case he might be delayed.

For example, Munger once missed a commercial flight out of the airport.

“When he passed through the security detector, it repeatedly set off,” Lu remembered in the introduction. “Charlie returned again and again for the security check. He finally passed through the security checkpoint after along and laborious effort, but by then, his plane had already departed.

“Charlie did not seem upset,” Lu writes. “He took out a book he carried with him and sat down to read while he waited for the next flight.”

The investing legend also uses the same strategy while waiting to take meetings. When Lu first met Munger, Munger had already finished reading several newspapers.

“Charlie likes to meet people for breakfast, usually starting at 7:30 a.m.,” Lu writes in the introduction. “I arrived on time and found Charlie sitting there, finished with the day’s newspapers. It was only a few short minutes before 7:30, but I felt bad letting an older man I respected wait for me.”

So, the next time Lu and Munger arranged to meet, Lu got there 15 minutes earlier.

“[I] still found Charlie sitting there, reading the newspaper,” Lu says. “For our third meeting, I arrived 30 minutes earlier and Charlie was still reading the newspaper, as if he had been waiting there all year round and had never left the seat.”

The morning reading was intentional: “I came to understand that Charlie always arrives early for meetings,” Lu writes. “However, he does not waste time either, because he reads the newspapers he brought along.”

The papers he reads include “The Wall Street Journal,” “The New York Times,” “The Financial Times” and “Los Angeles Times,” according to Munger. He’s also a weekly reader of “The Economist.”

For Munger, the simple habit is the key to wisdom and success. “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero,” Munger says in author David Clark’s “The Tao of Charlie Munger.” “If you want wisdom, you’ll get it sitting on your a–. That’s the way it comes.”

Indeed, Buffett also reveres reading, and spends up to six hours at it each day. And one of Buffett and Munger’s proteges at Berkshire, Todd Combs, says he spends nearly 12 hours each day reading.

Don’t miss: Warren Buffett: Here’s how much college and grad school matter

Warren Buffett’s partner Charlie Munger shares his advice for living a rich and successful life 8:27 AM ET Wed, 16 Aug 2017 | 01:07Charlie Munger has been working alongside Warren Buffett for almost 60 years. To be as efficient as possible, Munger developed a simple productivity hack: using any available downtime to read. When Lu first met Munger, Munger had already finished reading several newspapers. “I arrived on time and found Charlie sitting there, finished with the day’s newspapers. “In my

Charlie Munger has been working alongside Warren Buffett for almost 60 years. Together, the business partners, billionaires and friends transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a once failing textile manufacturer into a $490 billion conglomerate.

Buffett, the 87-year-old CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Munger, the 94-year-old vice chairman, have dealt with more responsibility than most over their decades long careers.

To be as efficient as possible, Munger developed a simple productivity hack: using any available downtime to read.

“As long as I have a book in my hand, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time,” Munger said, according to his close friend and the founder of Himalaya Capital, Li Lu.

Lu, who has known Munger for over a decade and wrote an introduction to Munger’s book, “Poor Charlie’s Almanack,” said the billionaire would carry around a book or a newspaper just in case he might be delayed.

For example, Munger once missed a commercial flight out of the airport.

“When he passed through the security detector, it repeatedly set off,” Lu remembered in the introduction. “Charlie returned again and again for the security check. He finally passed through the security checkpoint after along and laborious effort, but by then, his plane had already departed.

“Charlie did not seem upset,” Lu writes. “He took out a book he carried with him and sat down to read while he waited for the next flight.”

The investing legend also uses the same strategy while waiting to take meetings. When Lu first met Munger, Munger had already finished reading several newspapers.

“Charlie likes to meet people for breakfast, usually starting at 7:30 a.m.,” Lu writes in the introduction. “I arrived on time and found Charlie sitting there, finished with the day’s newspapers. It was only a few short minutes before 7:30, but I felt bad letting an older man I respected wait for me.”

So, the next time Lu and Munger arranged to meet, Lu got there 15 minutes earlier.

“[I] still found Charlie sitting there, reading the newspaper,” Lu says. “For our third meeting, I arrived 30 minutes earlier and Charlie was still reading the newspaper, as if he had been waiting there all year round and had never left the seat.”

The morning reading was intentional: “I came to understand that Charlie always arrives early for meetings,” Lu writes. “However, he does not waste time either, because he reads the newspapers he brought along.”

The papers he reads include “The Wall Street Journal,” “The New York Times,” “The Financial Times” and “Los Angeles Times,” according to Munger. He’s also a weekly reader of “The Economist.”

For Munger, the simple habit is the key to wisdom and success. “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero,” Munger says in author David Clark’s “The Tao of Charlie Munger.” “If you want wisdom, you’ll get it sitting on your a–. That’s the way it comes.”

Indeed, Buffett also reveres reading, and spends up to six hours at it each day. And one of Buffett and Munger’s proteges at Berkshire, Todd Combs, says he spends nearly 12 hours each day reading.

Don’t miss: Warren Buffett: Here’s how much college and grad school matter

In a matter of hours, President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal. Many are expecting him to pull the United States out of the deal and restore sanctions against the nation. China, alongside India, are the top two buyers of Iranian crude oil. “With trade skirmishes between the U.S. and China and all kinds of political issues, I see the resistance from Chinese crude buyers to comply [to U.S. sanctions against Iran],” added Shum. Should the U.S. withdraw from th

In a matter of hours, President Donald Trump is set to announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal. Many are expecting him to pull the United States out of the deal and restore sanctions against the nation.

Among the deal’s signatories, China is likely to resist any unilateral American action, experts said.

Any sanctions on Iran would have a “negligible effect on China’s buying attitude,” said John Driscoll, director of JTD Energy Services in Singapore and a former oil trader whose career spans nearly 40 years.

China, alongside India, are the top two buyers of Iranian crude oil.

One of the world’s fastest growing markets for oil consumption, China “needs the oil,” and trade tensions with the U.S. would make Beijing even less likely to support sanctions from Washington, said Victor Shum, vice president of the energy group at IHS Markit.

“With trade skirmishes between the U.S. and China and all kinds of political issues, I see the resistance from Chinese crude buyers to comply [to U.S. sanctions against Iran],” added Shum.

Even so, China will try to keep its response measured as the world’s second-largest economy continues its bilateral trade negotiations with the U.S., said Benjamin Lu, an investment analyst for commodities at Phillip Futures.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry signaled last Wednesday that it wasn’t in support of the U.S. quitting the deal, but stopped short of criticizing any specific country.

Should the U.S. withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration must decide on whether to wield powerful U.S. sanctions to punish countries that continue to do business with Iran.

Still, the market will find ways to circumvent any sanctions, such as transferring supplies between floating storage, using barter trade, or not using U.S. banks, according to analysts.

“The market will be resourceful,” said Driscoll.

For instance, Iranian traders have the option of trading in Chinese yuan-denominated crude oil futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange — circumventing any restrictions on dollar-denominated trade and U.S. banks.

Shum and Lu, however, said such a development may not be that immediate or apparent, as Shanghai oil futures trade is still a largely domestic affair. Beijing also would not want to be seen to be openly pushing back on U.S. sanctions as it negotiates bilateral trade with Washington, said Lu.

From pop idols to wanghong — a phrase used to refer to internet celebrities — China’s most popular influencers share one thing in common: They’re raking in a lot of money. The online celebrity economy was projected to be worth around 58 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) in 2016, according to data company CBNData. That made the sector more valuable than the domestic film industry, which brought in 45.7 billion yuan in revenues in the same year. Lu reportedly made 210 million yuan ($33.2 million) in the

From pop idols to wanghong — a phrase used to refer to internet celebrities — China’s most popular influencers share one thing in common: They’re raking in a lot of money.

The online celebrity economy was projected to be worth around 58 billion yuan ($8.4 billion) in 2016, according to data company CBNData. That made the sector more valuable than the domestic film industry, which brought in 45.7 billion yuan in revenues in the same year.

Among the most popular of those celebrities is actor-singer Lu Han, a former member of South Korean-Chinese pop group EXO, who has appeared in commercials endorsing everything from luxury Cartier accessories to flavored milk from local dairy brand Yili.

Actress Yang Mi, with more than 77 million fans on social media platform Weibo, is another bankable name who works with brands like Estee Lauder and Michael Kors. Regarded as a fashion icon, Yang is also often referred to as a “daihuo nüwang” — queen of driving sales — for her ability to spark fashion trends based on designer goods she wears.

Those endorsements contributed to Lu and Yang ranking within the top three on the 2017 edition of Forbes China’s list of celebrities in the country based on earnings and popularity. Lu reportedly made 210 million yuan ($33.2 million) in the 12 months ending June 30, 2017. Yang earned 200 million yuan ($31.6 million) in the same period.